Understanding youth motivations of entertainment consumption at shopping centres: Implications for shopping centre marketing

Entertainment consumption is becoming a popular activity within the shopping centre habitat. A key group of entertainment-seeking shoppers is the youth shopper, generally aged between 15 and 24 years (Sit, Merrilees and Birch 2003). Despite numerous studies on motivations of mall patronage (Arnold and Reynolds 2003; Bloch, Ridgway and Dawson 1994), few studies have specifically explored youth motivations relative to entertainment consumption at shopping centres. Thus, the aims of this study was to identify: (1) dimensions of youth motivations relative to entertainment consumption; (2) differences of youth motivations between different types of shopping centre entertainment; and (3) differences of youth motivations within the same type of shopping centre entertainment. Focusing on going to the movies (specialty entertainment) and dining out at the food court (food entertainment), this study identified three key motivations, namely thrill seeking, escapism, and socialising. Tests of difference revealed that youth 'movie-goers' place greater emphasis on thrill seeking, as compared to youth 'food-lovers'. However, in terms of the escapism and socialising, no significant difference were found between young 'movie-goers' and young 'food-lovers'. Focusing on the same type of entertainment, tests of difference revealed that youth 'movie-goers' place greater emphasis on thrill seeking, while youth 'food-lovers' place greater emphasis on the socialising. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed.